Kilchoman Distillery Company

Kilchoman Distillery Company History

Kilchoman commenced production in 2005 - three years after plans for the distillery were initially produced. It was the first distillery to be established on Islay in over 124 years.

Anthony Wills, managing director of the Kilchoman Distillery Co, ran his own independent single cask bottling company for eight years before coming up with the idea of creating a farm-based distillery.

Islay was chosen as the location for the distillery because of its global reputation for producing high-quality malts, and also because the family of Wills’ wife originated on Islay. Rockside Farm was selected as the distillery site because it had suitable buildings available and was noted for growing the best malting barley on the island.

Raising the funds proved the most challenging aspect of the project, and having secured £1 million from private individuals, the local enterprise board and a bank, a further £3.5million had to be provided by shareholders within two to three years of starting the project.

The first release of three-year-old spirit took place in September 2009, followed by a variety of limited editions and finally three core products. In 2015 Kilchoman Distillery Co purchased Rockside Farm from Mark and Rohaise French.